SHANE WARNE has urged Australia not to undervalue its battled hardened veterans as it plots a course for the fierce frontiers of India and England.

Warne has cautioned Australia about sending a "work experience'' legspinner to India despite speculation it was considering either Queensland's Cameron Boyce or Sydney's Adam Zampa for next month's four Test tour.

"I don't think Test cricket is the place to have work experience,'' Warne said yesterday.

"You can do that in the Sheffield Shield. I would have liked Steve Smith to have a few seasons of legspin in the Sheffield Shield to help him develop."

Queensland leggie Cameron Boyce.Source: The Courier-Mail

With the Test team sapped of 247 Tests worth of experience with Hussey and Ricky Ponting retiring this summer, Warne sensed that heavy duty tours of India and England require hard men.

Usman Khawaja, has been chosen as standby for Michael Clarke but Warne has named David Hussey, 35, ahead of Adam Voges, 33, as his top two and said even 38-year-old Brad Hodge, who no longer plays first-class cricket, should not be discounted.

"You know what, I wouldn't even write off Brad Hodge,'' he said. "He is in the best form of his life and you look around at who's the best young player going around.

"There's so many but I think it's really important Australia have that mix of experience and youth.

"There's no point in picking two or three young blokes for the sake of it because they're young. They've still got to earn their spot.''

Warne wanted to see players picked in the same way Mike Hussey got his chance to debut at the age of 30 after 11 seasons of first-class cricket.

"The hardest thing is when you lose that experience is trying to replace it,'' he said.

''(David Hussey) will definitely be one of the chances. He's got (41) first-class hundreds. He's a quality player.

"A lot of people see him as a short-form player but I think he's a quality player no matter what form of the game.''

David Hussey.Source: Herald Sun

Warne felt many positions in the current Test team were yet to be nailed down, meaning the end to the Sheffield Shield season will represent the biggest opportunity in 20 years for Australia's domestic cricketers.

But, with the squad for the four-Test series in India to be selected at the start of the domestic four-day competition's resumption, the No.6 replacement will already have a leg-up for the Ashes tour.

"There's so many spots up for grabs whether it be spinners, young batsman, opening batsman, middle-order batsman,'' Warne said.

"For every Australian playing first-class cricket there's a real opportunity there now for anyone to grab it.

"This is going to test the depths of first-class cricket in Australia. We've always said we're the strongest in the world ... now we need to step up.''

Warne had no issue with Australia only playing one spinner in the SCG Test against Sri Lanka, overlooking another No. 6 candidate in spinning all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who has now returned to Stars' duties in the Big Bash.

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